December 1977 in Music History

Events in Music

Album Release

Dec 13 Asylum Records releases "Don Juan's Reckless Daughter", Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell's 9th studio album;

TV Show Appearance

Dec 17 Elvis Costello & The Attractions 1st US TV appearance on "Saturday Night Live"

Music History

Dec 23 British singer-songwriter Cat Stevens formally converts to Islam, taking the name Yusuf Islam

  • Dec 31 "Bubbling Brown Sugar" closes at ANTA Theater NYC after 766 performances
  • Dec 31 "Man of La Mancha" closes at Palace Theater NYC after 124 performances

Birthdays in Music

  • Dec 1 Brad Delson, American rock guitarist (Linkin Park), born in Agoura, California
  • Dec 4 Big Pokey [Milton Powell], American rapper (Screwed Up Click), born in Houston, Texas
  • Dec 4 Zeynep Gedizlioğlu, Turkish contemporary classical composer, born in İzmir, Turkey
  • Dec 7 Dominic Howard, English drummer (Muse), born in Stockport, England
  • Dec 9 Imogen Heap, British dance-pop singer-songwriter, born in London Borough of Havering, United Kingdom
  • Dec 14 Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Colombian-Austrian conductor (Houston Symphony, 2014-22; Frankfurt Radio Symphony, 2005-2021), born in Medellín, Colombia
  • Dec 18 Maria Brink, American heavy metal singer and songwriter (In This Moment), born in Schenectady, New York
  • Dec 20 David Feldman, Brazilian-Israeli jazz and bossa nova pianist, arranger, and composer, born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  • Dec 23 Jari Mäenpää, Finnish heavy metal guitarist and singer (Wintersun), born in Finland

PsyPsy (45 years old)

Dec 31 South Korean pop star (Gangnam Style), born in Seoul, South Korea


Deaths in Music

  • Dec 5 Rahsaan Roland Kirk, American jazz multi-instrumentalist (Bright Moments, The Case of the 3 Sided Dream in Audio Color), dies of a stroke at 42

Peter Carl GoldmarkPeter Carl Goldmark (1906-1977)

Dec 7 Hungarian-American engineer (developed the 33-1/3 rpm LP phonograph record format), dies in a car accident at 77

  • Dec 16 Benny de Weille, German swing jazz clarinetist and bandleader, dies at 62
  • Dec 22 Johann Nepomuk David, Austrian-German composer, dies at 82
  • Dec 26 Ivan Rezak, Czech composer, dies at 53